"I know a way," Amí said, leaning against the arm of the couch and touching Regina's shoulder lightly.
"We're not cutting her hair," Robin growled from his chair. The faun had threatened such a solution on a similar previous occasion. She insisted it was in jest, that she would never actually cut Hana's—or Rebekah's hair without express permission from both her parents, but Robin remained a little suspicious.
Amí grinned, remembering said occasion differently it seemed. "No, that wasn't what I was going to say. I was going to suggest just washing her hair."
"Wouldn't the rubbing just tangle it further?" Regina said, still idly fiddling with the ends of her dark-haired daughter's locks. Hana gazed mournfully up at her aunt Amí. Her head and neck were sore and it felt as if a million ants were marching across her scalp.
"I don't wanna take a bath," she whined, leaning back into her mother's chest.
"I know baby, but it might help get your hair untangled." Regina replied soothingly, patting her chubby little thigh.
"Besides, you won't be taking a bath, Hana-bear, you'll be taking a shower." Amí smiled wide as the little girl's eyes lit up.
"Like a big girl?" she asked excitedly.
Amí nodded. "Just like a big girl."
Hana's parents smiled as she shot off Regina's lap, leading the way up the stairs to the bathroom. "Race you!" echoed down to them.
"Good luck with that," Robin chuckled, moving to sit by his wife, clasping her hand.
"We probably won't be able to get her out now," Regina agreed.
Amí just smiled and followed her adopted niece upstairs.
Hana was already half undressed by the time Amí arrived, and was trying to get the water started while taking her shirt off at the same time.
"Whoa there, kiddo, slow down," she said, catching the four year old under the arms just as she lost her precarious balance. "Let me help, okay?"
"Okay." Hana held up her arms so her shirt could be gently pulled over her head. "Now what?" she asked as Amí adjusted the water temperature.
"Now…watch!" Amí tugged on the tap triggering the water to stop flowing into the bathtub and start raining down from the shower head.
Hana giggled as her tangled hair was dusted with water droplets and tiny waves lapped at her toes. She clapped her hands in the spray, giggling harder as the water spewed into her face.
"Okay, Hana, turn around so I can get your hair nice and wet." Amí instructed, kneeling next to the tub and rolling up her sleeves. "Tip your head back a little; there you go." She helped the little girl wet her hair down and simultaneously keep the water out of her eyes.
"Now what?" Hana asked again.
Amí chuckled. Just like Henry, she thought. "Now we put the shampoo in. Step this way, out of the water." She opened the baby shampoo and squirted some into her palm.
The faun gently worked the shampoo into Hana's tangled hair, telling her stories (some made up, some true) and answering her myriad of questions.
"Okay, girly-girl, now that your hair's all soapy, we can start untangling it." she said after several minutes, resting her elbows on the side of the tub.
"With a brush?" Hana asked, eyes growing pensive.
"We can, if you want. Or we can just use our fingers." The little girl's eyes lit up.
They worked for several more minutes, gently combing their fingers through Hana's hair. She got scared momentarily when some of her dark hair came away between her fingers, but Amí assured her it was alright.
"Sometimes when our hair gets bad tangled like this, the only way for it to come undone is for it to break. But the glory of hair is that it grows; which is exactly what I'm going to be telling your parents when we get done."
Hana giggled. "Now what?"
A/N: So this one ended up longer than I thought it was. A couple things inspired this: I just got back from a vacation (Happy Labor Day, my fellow Americans) and my adorable little cousin came along. She loves to ask questions. And I had to use the shampoo trick to untangle my own hair (beach humidity and breezes don't mix with curly, frizzy hair). And I missed writing Amí, too.